Devil's Plaything

Wicked Virtues

"What?" she asked quietly.

Noah took a careful step towards her, and she stilled. "In order to get out of a chokehold, you have a few self-defense options. I can show you a good one. May I touch your neck?" He had stopped smiling, but there was an unmistakably mischievous glint in his eyes. It was a part of the game he played with her—he made her think he was making a bold move, and waited to see how she would react before he disguised it as something benign. She hesitated, then gave a small nod. He reached toward her and placed his hands gently at the base of her neck. She jerked back, instantly reminded of the last time someone had his hands around her neck. "We don't have to learn that move," Noah said quickly.

She shook her head. If she had known this self-defense move before Aiden had tried to strangle her, she could have saved herself without Noah's help. The permanent safety potential was worth the temporary feeling of discomfort. "It's okay," she said quietly, and stepped toward him again. She lifted his hands and placed them back on her neck. They felt warm and strong, and she focused on the feeling of him rather than her anxiety. There was a moment of silent recognition between the two of them as they processed that this was just as much a trust exercise as it was defense-training.

Noah's tone remained professionally neutral as he continued. "First, lower your chin immediately to try to protect your neck as quickly as possible. Now you're going to put your palms together, like you're praying, and move them up in between my arms." Mira followed the instructions. "Good." He examined her arms with professional curiosity, as if he had taught self-defense many times before. She wondered if he had to resist looking too long at her body, as she had to with his. "Spread your arms so that your upper arms are preventing me from moving mine together to defend myself from you." Mira felt a familiar rush of adrenaline as her skin made contact with his again. The muscles in his arms were flexed, and the feeling of hard muscle was distracting.

He paused in giving his instructions, and his professional demeanor faded as his eyes darted to where their arms touched before they returned to hers just as quickly. "This is your opportunity to reach for my head. You use both hands to grab the back of my head with four fingers, while jamming your thumbs into my eyes. Along with impairing my vision, this will allow you to bring my head forward in order for you to head-butt me and, if you choose, simultaneously knee me in the crotch area."

Mira felt it would somehow be too intimate if she touched his face, so she instead just settled for a light knee to the balls. She knew it was a mistake even before Noah inhaled sharply and dropped his gentle grip on her. "Was I not supposed to do that part?" She hadn't intended to kick him with force, she meant only to go through with the movement.

"No, good," Noah hissed, his voice very hoarse. "It just caught me by surprise." He tried to casually sit on the floor, but he moved far less gracefully than usual and ended up plopping into a sitting position on the floor. "I probably deserved it for grabbing your knife earlier." Mira surprised the both of them by letting out an abrupt laugh. Noah rested back on his hands, staring up at her curiously. She wasn't sure she had ever laughed in front of him before, and the moment felt strangely significant.

As she looked down at him, an odd thought occurred to her; she was glad that Noah had been the last man to have touched her, instead of Aiden. He surveyed the change in her demeanor with unrestrained curiosity. She let him look, and she wasn't embarrassed by what he surely realized she was feeling. He patted the spot on the ground next to him. She didn't hesitate before she sat down. She became distantly aware that she wasn't feeling like herself—in fact, she had been feeling different than usual for days now, and she liked it.

The concrete was warm on Mira's legs. She lay down on her back so she could see the sky. The moon was bright, despite it being obscured by a few clouds. The air she breathed felt especially refreshing. The only sound was the distant noise of traffic. She felt at peace here. She felt safe. "Is heaven there?" she asked Noah, pointing towards the stars.